- Boozhoo, I'm Rita Karppinen.

Welcome to the 20th season of Native Report.

- [Announcer] Production for "Native Report" is made possible by grants from the Blandin Foundation.

The generous support from viewers like Jack and Sharon Kemp.

And viewers like you.

(upbeat Indigenous music) (upbeat Indigenous music continues) - We are excited to bring you a special feature on one of the most exhilarating and culturally rich sports in Native American tradition: Indian relay racing.

This high speed, high stakes event is a testament to the incredible skills and deep-rooted heritage of the Northern Plains tribes.

In this episode, we'll take you to the heart of the action at the World Championship for Indian relay racing, where teams from across the globe gather to compete in the spectacular relay event.

Indian relay racing is more than just a sport.

It's a vibrant celebration of tradition, teamwork, and unparalleled horsemanship.

Sheridan, Wyoming, where the best teams from across the globe come together to compete in the world championship of Indian relay racing.

- This is probably the most extreme sport that you'll ever witness, but it's the first extreme sport.

If you could bottle that feeling, or if you could put it on a plate and feed that to somebody, I'd say that is the Fountain of Youth.

- [Rita] Over the course of a few days, we immersed ourselves in the world of Indian relay racing, speaking with team members, horse and team owners, and community leaders who share the same passion for this sport.

- Think about the introduction of the horse, the Spanish horse really from the Pueblo Revolt, you know, and the horses spilled onto the planes, but they ended up making their way into Minnesota and adopted by Dakota and Ojibwe people and actually integrated into daily life.

It was a way that people would often, you know, not just socialize and have fun, but even settle disputes and things like that.

It still serves an important social function, cultural function.

It's less used for dispute resolution, but it is something that brings people together.

There is a historical practice with betting, gaming, racing and relay racing.

Ojibwe and Dakota people would meet at Long Prairie in Central Minnesota and have competitions.

So some of these were individual foot races, some of these were horse races, and I think there were some types of what we would think of as relay races, even though this is a more modern evolution today.

(crowd cheers) - Now, before we get underway, I want to appreciate the crowd, the people that pay to come to see the performance of professional rodeo in the Old Indian Relay.

If it isn't for you, people, we wouldn't have a celebration.

I've been calling the races with the Indian relay for 20 years or more.

Up until about 1990 something, it used to be they just pulled them saddle horses off, the saddle off the saddle horses, and get together and have a team.

But they soon found out with the kind of prize money that was made available, from that point on, more teams were developing a program to develop their youth and to develop the horses.

Until now you have the teams that are going to the championship round.

- [Anton] There's a physical and an athletic dimension, there's a skill-based dimension, and then there's also this betting and even dispute resolution part to it.

In recent years, this has become kind of a stylized competition.

- [Rita] Only the best of the best in North America are invited to showcase their athleticism, horsemanship, and teamwork at this electric three-day event.

- So there's three horses, four team members.

We got a rider, we got a mugger, we got a catcher, and we got a holder.

Each has its own job.

It's three laps.

Start on the ground, come around, like a lot like a stock car race.

You jump off, get on, go, come back, get on, go.

And that's the finish.

- [Ken] Their riders are on a full regimen of workouts, the horses that they use to make it to the championship round today, in contrast to the early stages of the Indian relay, it's almost a night and day comparison.

The techniques that have developed over the years, it's down to almost a science.

It's like choreography, but the only choreography that has taken place is much more difficult.

- We all have to be like on the same page like everyone has to do their job.

But most importantly, I have to do my job because I'm a rider, and we all gotta trust each other.

You got to like, I gotta trust my set up man, that he is gonna stab my horse still, and I gotta trust my catcher that he is gonna catch the horse and I gotta trust all my horses too.

- The courage to do things that are not natural to them, whether it's coming out in front of the crowd with just a breechcloth, to come out here and risk injury, not just a rider himself, but a lot of the injuries come from the guys on the ground.

The setup man gets run over, the catcher gets a full dose of 1,200 pounds of horse running over him, and he's still hanging on.

And how he didn't shrivel in front of the challenge, but rather how he went about, took his hit, maybe he lost consciousness, but he got up and he went out.

The toughness, the resilience that they have is not just one thing.

It's all it encompassed in that decision for them to be a member of that team.

- I've been injured and hurt quite a while, quite a bit, but I managed to try to keep myself healthy and in shape, so I can keep going throughout the season.

The first day I was real antsy and nervous, and my first time here, the big show, I stretch out, get my mind ready, get alone a little bit, listen to my music, whatever I can just to stay focused and everything.

- They pray for the perfect run.

They do their old ancestral ways of observing the supernatural, and they called upon them for that help.

Much like the warriors of the old in which to go on any expedition.

They prepare themselves with their own medicine to go into the skirmishes with the enemy.

And you'll see that as the preparation is going on now, probably about an hour before you start smelling the different kind of cedar and sweet grass and the natural sea.

- [Person] A lot of tribes and affiliations have different ways they paint, you know, their meanings of how they paint them.

You know, some people do circles around the eyes so it helps the horse see everything and gives them a clear mind, or stripe or lightning bolt on the side, or medicine wheels.

- So a horse can feel your heartbeat 15, 20 feet away and he can feel your footsteps 100, 200 feet away, and he knows your attitude and he is got you figured out before you even get to him.

And there's a connection that you either, a lot of times you either connect with them or you don't.

The first horse has gotta be your most level headed and it's probably gonna be your fastest horse.

Second horse, maybe he was the first horse at one time, and he's a little bit up there in age now, and second suits him just fine.

Third horse is gonna be probably your hottest horse, the toughest to hold down, and he's really excitable and stuff.

Usually by day three now, you could tell who's got the strongest horses.

You can't tell that anymore.

- [Rita] Each race showcased the unmatched bond between rider and horse.

As teammates race bareback and execute a thrilling transitions with precision and speed.

- [Ken] When they cross that grandstand and that crowd is roaring, A single mistake is going to cost them.

- Disaster.

What could went wrong, went wrong.

That did not go the way it was planned on.

The heat, 110-degree heat.

I don't know, just...

I think when the gun went off, the horse thought it was in front of it, 'cause it echoed and she freaked out a little bit and went backwards.

And no big deal.

We left, came back in.

First exchange, not bad.

Second exchange, there was another team that had lost a horse and they got between us, and our rider and our catcher, everybody's fine.

Horses are fine and nobody got hurt, which is a good thing.

There's another relay next week, there's another relay tomorrow, no matter where we end up, we're gonna try as hard tomorrow as we tried today.

- Once you hit the reservation period in the 1800s and the US government was sending a white Indian agent to all of the reservations, if a native person was holding weapons or something like that, they were considered a threat you could pay with your life.

And I think relay racing flew a little bit under the radar screen and started to become more important for a lot of tribes throughout the West and the Southwest.

And as that happened, you know, probably by the time you get, they recall the Indian agents in 1934, and then tribes are starting to organize their own government structures and things like that.

It was pretty stable and already becoming stylized, kind of like rodeo customs and things like that.

But there's a huge infusion of capital that happens just with the advent of tribal gaming.

And that's something that happened in the 1990s.

All of a sudden prize purses for competition, powwows and relay races went through the roof, and it became a very intense competition that had lots of participants.

- I guess what Indian relay means to us is, you know, family and honor and culture.

They call a lot of the tribes up north, you know, horse nations.

You know, we've had a long history, a long relationship with horses and they have been a way for our people to survive back then.

And for us now, they still have that power to make us successful, and not just with Indian relay, but in life.

The equine therapy is real.

- And so, it's a kind of a complex dance, and because we don't experience it on a daily basis of how these animals are conditioned, we just kind of overlook the intricacies of the training process, it's been over 20 some years and I've come to appreciate the importance of this race, this continuation of the horse culture, which started 400 years ago.

It began to evolve within my own mind and thinking process of the significance of Indian relay to be a part of the puzzle that creates the whole of our Indian nations of the great plains of the Intermountain West, a plateau, of how these young men maybe can't speak their language, but they go and get involved in this and begin to have that link that goes back to their ancestors.

They're able to now make sense of contemporary Indian life and to be able to say, "Oh, look, I'm a part of this, that I'm a unique, whether it's a Lakota or (indistinct) or whether it's Cheyenne, they begin to feel pride in themselves.

Years ago there used to be too much drinking, too much drugs.

Today, that's non-existent almost, because their own sense of integrity.

- [Rita] This champion, this sport is about more than competition.

It's about strengthening bonds, celebrating heritage, and inspiring the next generation of racers.

That's really rewarding for all of us and to, you know, see them do better in life, and it kind of helps them with their foundation and helps them have some values and helps them have, you know, some camaraderie.

And I feel like camaraderie is really important for tribal men.

- [Rita] So much goes into Indian relay racing and so much work goes on behind the scenes to prepare the teams for upcoming races.

- Our horses are with us all the time.

Whenever the season's over, they come home with us.

They're right outside the house there.

So they're with us throughout the year and then we start training and he starts training in about February and then we start getting ready for the season, and they usually have the season opener end of May.

So for about five months we're doing the hitting the Indian Relay Trail.

But the other seven months of the year, you know, we still have a lot of work to do with the horses, and so Indian relays on our mind constantly, 365 days a year, Indian relaying.

We put way more into this business than we get out of it, and I guess the reward is spending time with our families, making memories, hanging out with people we haven't seen in a while, the comradery.

I guess, that's what's most rewarding because it doesn't pay out as much as we wish it did, as much as we put into it.

- [Rita] And even though putting more into Indian relay racing was a common theme, they all had their reasons for coming back.

- I love horses.

I've been riding since I was just a little kid, and I grew up watching, like my dad, he used to be a relay rider, so I just grew up watching him.

And ever since I just kind of fell in love with the sport, - If you could bottle that feeling or if you could put it on a plate and feed that to somebody, I'd say that is the Fountain of Youth.

I'm 52 and there's no way heck I should be doing this, but I do.

And, oh man, I'll do it probably until I can't do it no more.

- My reasoning might be a little bit different than anybody's.

I feel like a calling for relay, it's a pretty, it's it's a different sport.

It's not like football or basketball where you're just gonna naturally gifted or anything.

And my dad passed away when I was 11, and he was a horseman and that's kinda, I got outta horses when I was a little kid, so I ended up getting back into it and John was kind of coming off another team and brought me up and I just had this drive and motivation and determination in me that wanted to keep going.

And that's kind of why I race.

I mean, I'm not out here...

I mean, yeah, I want to be the best, but I'm really here to try to honor his last name and race for him.

- Like I always tell, Scott, me and him put Abrahamson on the map and it was 'cause of his dad.

You know, he meant a lot to us, he meant a lot to me.

I made a promise to him.

I wanna be able to help everybody out and be a major like asset to Indian relay to where people can come and ask me for help or if I ever need help, they can gimme help, you know, or vice versa.

That's how I wanna be remembered.

- Well, in the championship round, I think that the three teams that come from up there and the Colville Indian Reservation, which is reservation of Northwest Indians, who were excellent horsemen, they've won their share of championships.

Abrahamson and Omak have legendary riders.

Scotty Abrahamson is one of the best contemporary riders.

He does amazing things.

Tyler Peasley, who is, now I think he's probably hit his maximum abilities as a veteran, as a great rider, and he's gonna come down in history as one of the greatest riders of all time.

He brought Omak back from almost certain defeat yesterday to come into the championship round.

And then Front Line, which comes from the Crow Creek Indian Reservation in South Dakota, they've won three in a row here.

Those three teams are some of the best.

The way it's set up right now, it's a toss up.

- [Rita] As the teams prepare for the championship round the next day, one thing was on all their minds: who would be crowned the best relay team in the world?

And the greatest run is that when the guy jumps off and you'll see 'em when they come off, they'll hit the ground one, two and away they go on top, see?

Anything beyond four or five steps, they're not gonna win no championship with that.

Single mistake is going to cost them.

- I felt like I choked.

(chuckles) I cost us a race.

We had some tough luck.

It's one of those things that, I guess, this meant to be, you know, one of those.

I had an opportunity to win good horses and stuff, and just some things went wrong and cost us the race, you know, some pretty clutch moments that could have been executed a little better, but that's how it goes.

You know, you win some, you lose some, and the winners did great this weekend, so, I mean, good for them.

- [Interviewer] What comes next?

- The humiliation, the humbleness and going back to work.

- So we're in a championship heat and we are box three, which is usually, you know, kind of the box that you don't want, but we made do with what we had and just stayed running, stayed busy, just kept trying.

We ended up taking, first we took championship, we grind for this and finally get some pay off.

Four years we've been at this event and to finally get a win and it, I'm speechless.

So we're gonna, our main concern is the horses, so we wanna make sure that they're comfortable with everything they need, because without them we wouldn't have been able to do any of this.

So we're gonna put, you know, the next two hours into just taking care of our horses, cooling them down, icing them, anything post-workout related, and then just enjoy this win with my brothers and my nephews, and yeah, just be in the moment tonight for a little while.

- [King Rope Team Member] Indian relay is today's modern day warriors, and it's awesome to see them in action and (chuckles) it takes us back in time to the Old West.

And I think that part of us, the Old West, is in all of us in it, the grit, the glory, the horsemanship, all of that, you know, it makes you feel good.

- It feels good to be the caller to give some pride and some dignity to the sport, to talk about 'em as superstars and heroes within the little children of their respective homelands.

I feel good about that.

- Every heat was more intense than the last, and the race to the top was not an easy one.

Yet, every team showed their warrior hearts.

Thank you for joining us on "Native Report."

As we immersed ourselves in the thrilling world of Indian relay racing at the World Championship.

Today, we've experienced the intense energy and unparalleled skill that defined this remarkable sport.

From the heart-stopping moments of horse changes to the display of teamwork and tradition, we've seen how Indian relay racing is more than just a competition.

It's a celebration of cultural heritage and community spirit.

As we close out this episode, we honor the athletes and communities who keep the spirit of Indian relay racing alive, blending historical significance with contemporary excitement.

Their efforts ensure that this story tradition continues to inspire and captivate audiences around the world.

(bright music) - I talked to an elder whose husband had diabetes back in the 1950s.

They went to see the doctor and two weeks later got a letter saying his blood sugar was high and to increase his insulin.

She said he gave himself an injection of insulin and down it went.

Fortunately, times have changed.

CGMs, or continuous glucose monitors continually track your blood sugar and give you accurate readings through an app and a smartphone.

They use a small sensor that is attached to your skin and the sensors last up to 15 days.

Some of the sensors are the size of two pennies stacked and they're relatively painless to put on.

You do not have to poke your finger to check your blood sugar.

The sensor checks it as often as every minute.

CGMs have been game changing for many people with diabetes and have brought many into good control when they weren't before.

Not having to poke your finger to check your glucose has really helped those who are afraid of needles.

It would be easy to assume that everyone with diabetes has a CGM or has access to one.

However, that is not the case, and poor, older, and those on Medicaid and minorities have less access to CGMs than those with better health coverage.

The American Diabetes Association is lobbying to address this.

CGMs provide life-changing benefits for diabetes control.

They help avoid or delay serious short-term and long-term diabetes complications.

They have alarms to help avoid high or low blood sugar episodes.

They give patients with diabetes real-time readings and graphs that are simple to read and intuitive.

They can give average glucose measurements over different timeframes.

Again, continuous glucose monitors have been a game changer.

They have brought many into better control than they otherwise would have been.

CGMs are still expensive and that's a barrier to everyone who needs one having one.

That expense is more than offset by better diabetes control and a decrease in all the complications that come with diabetes.

Diabetes affects all parts of the body.

I was told in medical school, if you know diabetes, you know medicine.

If you have diabetes and you don't have a CGM yet, ask your healthcare provider.

If you can use a smartphone to read social media posts and memes, you can learn to use a CGM.

You deserve better diabetes control.

Remember to call an elder.

They've been waiting for your call.

I'm Dr. Arnie Vainio and this is Health Matters.

(bright music) - Thank you for spending your time with your friends and neighbors from across Indian Country.

I'm Rita Karppinen.

We'll see you next time on "Native Report."

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